Agamemnon

[ ag-uh-mem-non, -nuhn ]

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a king of Mycenae, a son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus. He led the Greeks in the Trojan War and was murdered by Clytemnestra, his wife, upon his return from Troy.
2. (italics) a tragedy (458 b.c.) by Aeschylus.

Agamemnon

/ ˌæɡəˈmɛmnɒn /

noun

1. Greek myth a king of Mycenae who led the Greeks at the siege of Troy. On his return home he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus See also Menelaus

Agamemnon

1. In classical mythology , the king who led the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War ). To obtain favorable winds for the Greek fleet sailing to Troy, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis and so came under a curse. After he returned home victorious, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Agamemnon¹

< Greek Agamémnon- (stem of Agamémnōn ), < *Agaménmon-, equivalent to aga- great + men- (truncation of Menelaus, meaning king) + -mon- suffix used in shortened names

Example Sentences

Stow your phone and don a ghostly mask, then wander through the stories that animate a realm of Greek myth, losing and finding Agamemnon and your friends.

From New York Times

How to tell your Aeschylus from your Agamemnon?

From Washington Post

The red carpet traces its origins back to 458 B.C., when it appeared in the Aeschylus play “Agamemnon.”

From New York Times

Its treasures include the 3,500-year-old gold funerary mask known as the Mask of Agamemnon and the Antikythera Mechanism, a device used to track the sun, moon and planets.

From Seattle Times

Klytemnestra is grieving after her husband Agamemnon has killed their daughter Iphigenia because of a prophecy that the act would grant his army “fair winds” in war.

From New York Times